Which Bookmakers Offer Dota 2 Betting Markets?
We have gone the extra mile to bring you everything you need to know about eSports betting. Not only have we got these game-specific pages, but we also have bookmaker reviews for you to check out.
Here at Strafe.com, we’ve looked at bookies you probably haven’t even heard of, so make sure you take a look to find some hidden gems. We give our recommendations on which eSports betting sites we think are the ones to look out for, as well as highlighting the best bookies in the industry.
We’ve already mentioned the fact that the eSports world has grown. We all know that, by now. But what does that mean for Dota in terms of betting?
Many bookmakers see Dota as a major eSport and have acted on this to provide some form of betting coverage for Dota.
Dota 2 Betting Markets — What can you bet on exactly?
There are many different available Dota betting markets, and the selection will vary from bookie to bookie. If the operator specializes in eSports betting, then it’s more likely that there will be a larger choice for you to bet on.
Many bookmakers offer Dota betting markets, with the RTS game being one of the most popular eSports for betting customers.
Here, we have compiled a list consisting of the main markets available for all your Dota betting needs:
- Match winner: The most obvious, right? Yes, of course you can bet on which team is going to win the particular match.
- Map winner: Similar to the match-winner, eSports punters can also place a bet on Dota’s map winner. Both teams battle it out to take control and dominate the map, giving them an increased chance of winning.
- First blood: This market is the most common of the ‘first to…’ markets, which is why we have it separated out on our list. This will of course come towards the start of the game, with the opposing teams looking to get an early advantage in the match.
- First to…: As well as the first blood, there are other ‘first to…’ markets available. Some betting sites offer a first to a specific number of kills, while others offer first to destroy enemy building markets.
- Totals: Total kills, the total number of buildings, as well as total number of creep kills are all offered by various bookmakers.
Dota 2: The Basics
Now you know all about betting on Dota 2, we should probably tell you a bit about the game.
Here is the absolutely essential information you need to know to give yourself a better understanding of the strategy game. Once you have some good knowledge of the game, then you can introduce yourself into having a gamble on Dota.
- Dota 2 is a real-time strategy game that requires a lot of tactical decisions, intelligent perspectives and a high standard of team coordination.
- The aim of the game? Destroy your opponent’s "Ancient". This is located in a stronghold, which is protected by multiple towers down three lanes.
- Dota gamers control their own hero that fights for them and collects gold and experience. Gold can be gained by killing creeps, as well as killing enemy heroes, killing neutral creeps and destroying enemy buildings.
- Gold can also be used to buy items – that we shall discuss more later – to help them win the game, and teams will have a better chance of winning with more items.
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Heroes
Heroes are the essential element of Dota. An entire match will be heavily influenced by heroes and are the difference between winning and losing.
There are three different types of heroes available for players to select, and they are strength, agility, and intelligence. There are 40 strength heroes, 38 agility heroes and 43 intelligence heroes to choose from.
Strength heroes are tough warriors and can withstand more damage than the other two types of heroes. In general, strength heroes have the greatest natural health and can keep in the fight to damage the enemies.
Agility heroes are high-speed, finessed characters that are masters of weapons and fighting techniques. This type of hero has the ability to attack enemies regularly.
Intelligence heroes are masters of spells and abilities. Intelligence heroes often rely on helping allies and harming enemies rather than physical attacks. Some use magical powers to boost their attacking capabilities.
Each team will select five out of the 121 possible heroes at the beginning of every game. Heroes collect gold and experience points to grow stronger and gain new abilities in order to destroy the opponent’s Ancient.
Creeps
In Dota, creeps are described as "basic units". Every unit that isn’t a hero, building or courier (an animal that brings your items) is considered a creep. Whether creeps are player-controlled, neutral, or part of either faction, there is a thing or two you need to know about them.
Up until the defeat of the opposite team's barracks, creeps have set stats, and are not altered by collecting experience and/or leveling up. Once the barracks have been defeated, your team will gain "mega-creeps", which are significantly stronger. Meanwhile, heroes can kill creeps to gain experience and gold to improve their stats.
Items
Items in Dota are in-game pieces of equipment that provide heroes with bonus attributes and special abilities. There are 4 shops located on the Dota map for players to purchase the items. Most items are available at the shop, while there are also some dropped by neutral creeps sporadically around the map. However, for some special items, you will need to visit the secret shop. There are only 2 secret shops on the maps, one in either team's territory.
But how many items can a hero hold? They can have:
- Six items in their inventory.
- Three in their backpack
- Six more in their stash.
Items are purchased at the shop with the gold collected throughout the game.
eSports on the rise — an industry with a Bright Future
The eSports industry has grown rapidly in recent times, as has the market for Dota 2 betting sites — with Dota 2 on this journey since the start — and continues to follow that trend, becoming increasingly popular even as you’re reading this. As technology has advanced quickly over the last two decades or so, gamers have been well equipped to take eSports to unimaginable limits – the sky really is the limit!
Now with gamers turning professional, and with millions of viewers all over the world are tuning in to spectate, eSports has become widely popular in pretty much every part of the world. There are also full-time streamers on various platforms, showing that gaming and eSports is a true profession.
As we already know, there are tournaments and competitions worth thousands (and sometimes even millions) all year round across a number of eSports titles. Given the fact that there’s now a lot of people invested in eSports, the industry will always be on the rise.
Dota 2: A key game in the eSports revolution
Dota 2 has made a name for itself in the eSports world and has become one of the most popular titles in recent times. You may be surprised by this, especially as the game was only released to the world just less than eight years ago.
Even though the game is less than a decade old, Dota hit the ground running and became an instant favorite in the eSports community.
Some of you may not know this, but a tournament two years before Dota’s initial release date was the first public viewing of the game, with 16 teams invited to compete in The International. The tournament was a huge success, and the first-ever Dota 2 tournament had a grand prize of $1million. That’s a lot, but not by today's standard!
It wasn’t long after the game’s release that tournaments and competitions were held with some rather generous rewards for the winning teams. And then of course along came the bookmakers.
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Leading Dota 2 Bookmakers — Household Names
If you were to name the top four or five most popular bookmakers around, you’d all be naming at least a few of the same names. We’re talking about the William Hills, the Bet365s, the 888s of the world. Now, they specialize in sportsbooks and casinos and have done for a very long time.
With the introduction of eSports betting, operators have had to add eSports odds to their sites for those customers looking to place a bet on eSports.
Some bookmakers have dedicated a section of their site to eSports, while others have integrated eSports to be part of their sportsbook portfolio. Admittedly, the markets offered by the big names aren’t as extensive as those whose main focus is providing eSports odds, but there are still opportunities for you to bet on Dota.
The major eSports events, tournaments, and competitions all have some form of coverage, which is great to see. For Dota, tournaments such as The International, Dream League and EPIC League matches are all covered by most bookmakers.
Our recommended bookmakers for Dota bets
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Other Great Dota eSports Betting Sites in Europe
With eSports on the rise, there has been a number of relatively new bookmakers founded who specialize in eSports betting markets. Select operators offer exclusively eSports odds, emphasizing their commitment to providing an extensive selection of gaming odds. It's certainly worth doing your research into Dota 2 bookmakers!
If you’re looking to place a bet on Dota, then there’s no doubt that heading to one of these bookmakers will offer a wide range of Dota markets for you to enjoy. There will be plenty of opportunities on eSports betting sites for Dota markets.
Bookmakers such as Unikrn, Loot.bet and Neo.bet are just a few examples of high-quality eSports bookmakers.
For European customers, betting sites such as Cyber.bet, PNXBET and BetWinner are all at your disposal, with each offering a wide range of eSports markets.
On top of that, some of the best eSports betting sites offer a live streaming service for customers to watch their favorite eSports titles. This means punters can watch the Dota action unfold and place in-game bets accordingly.
If you’re unsure about any bookmakers, then be sure to have a read of our bookmaker reviews, where you can find plenty of different bookies. Not only do we just discuss the basic information, but we also take an in-depth look into how their eSports offering looks.
Dota 2 Betting Tips
Predicting Dota can be difficult at times, especially with the competitive nature in some of the biggest eSports tournaments around. There are many tipsters online who will look to provide you with some assistance and expert knowledge when placing a bet on Dota.
One obvious tip is to gain as much knowledge and understanding regarding Dota, ensuring you know everything there is to know about the MOBA game. The more you know, the easier it will be to base your betting strategy on.
Getting to know the teams competing in the Dota events and tournaments you’re betting on is another great way to improve your betting skills. This way, your understanding of previous winners and team form will benefit your decision-making and could be the difference between winning and losing.
For more details and even more pieces of advice, be sure to head over to ourDota betting tips page. Here, we discuss some of the best tips available to you, hopefully benefitting your Dota betting experience.
Live Betting on Dota 2 Betting Sites
Live betting and in-play betting have become very popular during recent times and have been a great benefit for bookmakers, too. Gone are the days where you were gutted about missing your betting opportunity because a match had started.
Now, you can turn your attention to live betting, where betting markets are as available as they were before the match began.
The markets for Dota live betting are usually exactly the same as those markets available before an event. Of course, once the result of a particular market has been decided, that will no longer be available for bettors to place their wagers on.
For a whole lot more information about this when it comes to Dota, head over to our Dota live betting page, discussing everything you need to know about it.
Need the latest Dota odds? We've got them right here!
Get the Best Dota Betting Odds
When it comes to having a gamble on Dota, you may be wondering what you can actually place bets on. Odds are available in the same forms as other betting depending on the site: fractional, decimal and American as well as more niche forms like Hong Kong.
Odds combine with the Dota betting markets to make up a great betting experience, and every customer wants some competitive and appealing odds, right?
Dota’s betting odds are covered with a couple of different types of odds, all of which will usually be available on most bookmaker sites.
Outright
Outright odds are the most common amongst all bookmakers, offering bettors like yourself the chance to place a bet on which team will be victorious. On top of that, outright odds will also include the map winner (if available on the betting site), where punters will have the opportunity to gamble on who will control the map.
Pre-match
Pre-match odds provide a greater opportunity for customers to bet on the specifics of a Dota match, including some of the markets we mentioned earlier. For example, odds for the ‘first blood’ markets will be there waiting for yourself to place a bet on. You'll find that they're offered by many Dota 2 betting sites!
Both the pre-match odds and outright odds are available to customers before the particular eSport event has started.
Pre-match odds are rarely altered before a particular match, with bookmakers setting their odds and keeping them there until the eSports match has started.
Live Betting
As we mentioned previously, the use of live betting is a beneficial option for bettors like yourself to enjoy an alternative betting opportunity. It can add excitement to your Dota betting experience, as you will be watching the action unfold and place your bet on Dota.
Unlike pre-match odds, the live betting odds are constantly changing, depending on certain events in the game. Therefore, the odds will reflect what is happening, and you can use your quick decision-making to adjust your Dota 2 betting strategy.
If you’re looking for some to place a bet on Dota live, then we recommend heading over to our Dota live betting page, which gives you more details on how to place in-play wagers on the popular eSports.
Our Dota 2 Conclusion
Before we jump into the specifics of Dota eSports betting, we’re going to remind you to bet sensibly and responsibly. We know you know, and you know that we know that you know, but it’s essential for all eSports betting.
Now we have introduced you to Dota 2, our next job is to dive further into the Dota betting world. If you’re wanting to place a bet on Dota, you can find out exactly how to do this with our Dota betting guide.
As well as all of that, you can check out our Dota sign-up offers to see what can get your hands on to get you started with your Dota betting experience.
What are you all still doing here? Go on, go and dive into everything there is to know about the real-time strategy eSports and see how you can gamble on Dota.
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Dota 2 FAQs
🎮 What is Dota 2?
Dota 2 is a multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) video game with two teams - each consisting of five players - battling it out to destroy the enemy’s Ancient structure. The map is in a square structure filled with jungles, towers and 3 distinct lanes along with the Ancients at opposite diagonal corners.
The players must choose their player character (PC) from a pool of 121 heroes, each with different abilities based on strength, intelligence and agility. Once their hero is selected, players can earn gold by completing objectives such as killing an enemy or destroying the other team's towers. They can buy items to make their hero stronger before they eventually take over the map and win the game.
💰 Can I place a bet on Dota 2?
The eSports betting scene is increasing in popularity. On top of that, Dota 2 is considered by bookmakers as one of the most popular eSports titles around, so they offer multiple Dota markets.
There are tonnes of professional tournaments to bet on throughout the year including the DPC League, Major tournaments and, most importantly, The International (TI). In 2021, TI10 was the eSports competition with the most money on the line. Team Spirit took home $18.2 million of the $40 million prize pool. See where you can place a bet on Dota in our bookmaker reviews!
❓ What is live betting?
Live betting is a very popular form of betting in the eSports betting world. Punters have the opportunity to place a bet on a live event, such as a live Dota match. This means that you can place and change your bets as the match is ongoing. Most matches are streamed live over Twitch for free so you can keep up with the games as they go on. Not every bookie is going to allow this though so make sure you check out our Dota 2 bookmaker reviews to find the ones that do!
🙌 How do I know who is winning when I bet live?
Dota 2 is famously difficult to predict even if the game is ongoing but there are a couple of things that can help you make the best bets.
- Keep track of the kills. Live streams will always keep an accurate kill count, the more a team is winning fights, the higher the likelihood of them winning.
- Keep track of the gold advantage. The players earn gold as they go along to buy items that make them stronger. The more gold they have, the more items they can buy.
- Check the team's history. Like all things, knowledge is power. The more you watch and get to know a team, the more you'll be able to predict their win going into the match.
During the Dota 2 Pro League (the Dreamleague or DPC League, among others!), there are many games being played every day. It might be hard to keep track of who is playing who and when. This is where the Strafe app comes in. You can find the full schedule along with live updates, scores and links to the correct Twitch stream for your match. There's also a completely free option to predict who will win, perfect for if you're looking to get started in Dota 2 betting!
